Leeds Makkah Masjid » Blog Archive » Everybody follow Muhammad Days

Everybody follow Muhammad Days

Author Administrator on May 21st, 2010

A facebook named “everybody draw Muhammad Day” has invited people to draw images of the Mercy to Mankind, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on 20 May 2010.

It is maintained that Everybody Draw Mohammed Day is a protest against radical Islamists who threaten violence against individuals that attempt to depict the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

U.S. cartoonist Molly Norris of Seattle, has created the artwork in reaction to Internet death threats. Depictions of Muhammad are explicitly forbidden in the Muslim tradition. Norris said that if millions of people draw pictures of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Islamist radical would not be able to threaten them all and therefore the idea of depicting Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would become popular.

There have been various responses from Muslims and other independent people against such reasoning presented by those who want draw images of the Prophet. Muslims see the “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day” campaign as nothing more than a desperate attempt to incite and provoke Muslims. There seems to be a constant campaign to prove that every fifth person in the world who is a Muslim, belongs to the “other” camp and therefore it has be proven to them that their emotions and feelings are not important to the remainder of the world. It does not matter if their feelings and emotions are hurt; if an aspect of their religion is under attack. In recent years and months, there have been similar provocative attempts made in newspapers and films and now the internet has joined the battle ground.

It is incumbent upon Muslims to vocalise their discontent at attempts to belittle the honour of the Last and Final Messenger (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) and stand united to defend the persona of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him). The Muslim community of Leeds believes that rather than giving satisfaction to those who want to provoke Muslims, Muslims need show unity on this very important issue and create an awareness of what Islam really is and who the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) is. Holding up placards saying “Death on those who draw Prophet’s images”, “Go to Hell” and “Death awaits you” is not the way of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him). Muslims need to raise awareness of their faith, Islam. Anger and emotions are natural reactions to such disgraceful acts and it is important that Muslims stand united to protect the honour of their Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) in accordance with the Muslim tradition. However, in order to prevent fitna, chaos in the land, Muslims must express their emotions and anger in a constructive manner at all levels. Their protest, which may include coming on to the streets, presenting petitions to official authorities, writing articles or internet blogs, interviews to the media should all be in accordance with Islamic teachings. All forms of protest should be peaceful and should focus on achieving positive results.

Given that creating awareness is the need of the hour, Imam of Makkah Mosque, Qari Asim, has urged Muslims all over the world to celebrate “Everybody follow Muhammad Days” on Friday 21 May 2010, Saturday 22 May 2010 and Sunday 23 May 2010.

At times of adversity and provocation, Muslims revert to the teachings of the Noble Qur’an and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) who once said: “Do you know what is better than charity and fasting and prayer? It is keeping peace and good relations between people, as quarrels and bad feelings destroy mankind.” (Muslim & Bukhari).

The Glorious Qur’an reminds us: “Goodness and evil are not equal. Repel evil with what is better. Then that person with whom there was hatred, may become your intimate friend! And no one will be granted such goodness except those who exercise patience and self-restraint, none but people of the greatest good fortune. [Qur'an 41:34-35]

Although Muslims follow and should follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) every day of their lives as he is the best role model given to them by the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth, extra efforts should be made by Muslims, on these 3 days and the week following 20th May 2010 to raise awareness about the character and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) and there is no better way to raise awareness than following his example in everyday of our lives.

Muslims invite people of other faiths to also try to follow, if not more, then at least 5 things that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) did in any given day to see how much mercy, love and affection he brought to the lives of those who he came in contact with; how his each action was based on principles of mercy, justice, forgiveness and respect for others; how he inspired people to be faithful law-abiding people, and peaceful citizens of the world; how he motivated people to work for the greater good of humanity.

These 5 things could be any of the scores of things that we do everyday. They could be:

1. Looking after your family;

2. Helping in domestic affairs; e.g assisting in preparing dinner;

3. showing affection towards children;

4. showing respect to elderly and frail;

5. Feeding the poor and homeless;

6. Removing an obstacle from the roadway;

7. Helping your neighbour,your colleagues, strangers etc;

8. showing kindness to animals;

9. Brushing teeth five times a day and being hygienic;

10. Giving charity;

11. Visiting a sick person;

12. Listening to others’ problems;

13. Spending time with your family;

14. Spending time with your friends and colleagues;

15. Discussing community affairs;

16. Looking after the environment;

17. Being truthful, respectful, honest and just to others;

18. Beautifying yourself, so long as you act in moderation

19. Being ambitious and competitive to the extent that you are not unjust towards others

20. Being grateful and thankful to all those who have done some favour on you.

In short, issues like affection, moderation, clemency, fear, hope, chastity, compassion, generosity and the reflection of these in life are values that were highly regarded by the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and they form part of “Jihad” for Muslims.

When you do any of these things, remember that the Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also did them and vigorously encouraged others to do the same and ask yourself: What kind of Prophet he is? What kind of message he brought for his community? Why is it that at present almost every fifth person in the world aims to imitate the character of the Prophet of Islam?

Qari Asim said: “It was through tolerance, kindness, endurance, self-restraint, justice and respect for humanity that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) won the hearts and minds of those who opposed his principles and values and we Muslims should do the same. Let the 3 days – Friday 21 May 2010, Saturday 22 May 2010 and Sunday 23 May 2010 – be memorable days in your life when you yourself tried your utmost to follow and encouraged other to follow the beautiful values brought by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) by urging others with the slogan: “Everybody follow Muhammad Days”, “Everybody follow Muhammad Days” as far Muslims are concerned everyday is “Everybody follow Muhammad Day”.

We are grateful to all those individuals and organisations that see such depictions and images as a provocation campaign rather than trying to prove freedom of speech. We would like to end with the words of Sir George Bernard Shaw, a superstar playwright and tart-tongued literary personality of the early 20th century who said the following about the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him):

“I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him – the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Saviour of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.” [ 'The Genuine Islam,' Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936]